Date Night
by Eve215
Summary: Set after 'Bloodshot'. Jane decides Grace needs a night out on the town... in a non-date sort of way. Add a cougar named Jackie and a jealous Rigsby, and it's a Friday night they well most of them will probably want to forget.
1. Chapter 1

_A/N: I'm taking a break from cleaning (ug) and decided to write a happy little ditty. Death. Lies, and Videotape is so dark that I need to add some light to the universe LOL I've never been one to be able to write one-shots well so I thought I'd try. I failed LOL... so this is a two shot. This takes place a few days after Bloodshot. All mistakes are mine, and I don't own any of these characters. I just like making Grace blush._

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Patrick Jane stretched out lazily on his brown leather couch, one arm slung over his head, the other twirling a pencil around and round beside him, watching. It had been just a few days since he'd been blind and he had promised himself that he would enjoy every moment of sight from now on. Knowing himself, he knew that promise wouldn't last long because he'd get bored and some other new obsession would come and take it's place. But for now, he was content to watch and observe.

With Cho and Rigsby off interviewing a potential suspect and Lisbon gone to some 'leadership conference' it was only he and Van Pelt left in the bullpen from their team. He was just there because he had to be somewhere, and Grace was there to answer the phones. It was fine with him. Grace was as interesting person to study as any, especially since her little mishap with the bomber boyfriend. She'd taken the next day off after the incident, but came to work the next day all smiles and charm. Interesting.

Grace had been the object of his observation for the past fifteen minutes. Her back was to him, her red hair flowing fluidly down nearing her waist. It was curled some today. Jane knew that she only did that on days when she felt self-conscious. Like she was trying to hide behind her curls or that if she dressed nice, people would think that she was ok. It was to be expected, he thought.

Finally, Grace huffed loudly and turned her chair around, eyeing the consultant directly in his baby blues. "Can I help you with something?" she asked agitated.

"Me? No. I'm fine." he grinned mischievously.

"Is there a reason you are staring at me?"

He shrugged. "I just find you very interesting."

"That a fact." she said, he couldn't tell if it was anger or embarrassment that caused her cheeks to redden slightly. He loved having that affect on her... he loved having any affect on anyone, but especially making Grace blush. It was a good way to spend a boring Friday afternoon.

"That's a fact."

She raised a brow. "You aren't going to try to read me, are you?"

"No."

"Good--"

"I don't have to _try_. I _can_ read you, Grace. You are an open book."

"You don't know me at all." she turned back to her desk and tried to remember what she was working on. She heard Jane clear his throat behind her. Annoyance made her turn back to him. "Ok, what do you know about me? Or what do you think you know?"

Jane sat up, ran his fingers through his tossled blonde tresses, and leaned over on his knees. "I'm not talking about any deep seeded trauma. We've already covered that, and frankly, I'm not in the mood to discuss deep emotional turmoil."

"Neither am I." she visibly relaxed, happy that at least their conversation wouldn't depress her over the weekend.

"Good."

"So?"

"What?"

"Ug-- you're so frustrating." she turned her chair back around, but curiosity got the best of her. "Ok, you say you can read me. Go ahead. Read." she challenged. "Tell me what I'm thinking."

Jane grinned devilishly, closed his eyes melodramatically, then opened them back. "You are thinking that as much as you'd love to kiss Rigsby, you'd love to kiss me more." Her face turned bright crimson and she stuttered a second. "You are a cruel man, Jane."

"Oh, I'm just kidding you, although, I have to say, I am a pretty good kisser. Rigsby on the other hand, I have no idea. He does have those little thin lips, but if you are into that kind of thing--"

"Stop it, Jane."

"Ok." his voice turned serious. He walked over to her and sat down on her desk. "You are thinking that you hate it that that cougar woman from the country club called for Rigsby while he was gone. You hate it that you had to take a message for her, and you detest the fact that he will go out with her tonight."

"You don't know he'll go."

"Oh, he'll go. If not to prove to himself and his 'co-workers' that he doesn't have a thing for you, which he does, but that's not relevant now."

Despite herself, she smiled. He had that annoying way to make you smile without you wanting to. "Then what is relevant?"

His face lit up like a Christmas tree. He walked over to Rigsby's desk, grabbed the 'cougar's' phone number, and walked away whistling. A few minutes later, he returned to his former perch on Grace's desk. "Go out with me tonight."

"Wha--what?"

"No, not like that. Not a date. Just two bored co-workers going out to dinner. What do you say?"

The gleam in his eye told her that she shouldn't do it, but it _was_ Friday night and she _was_ bored and it _could_ be interesting going to eat with Jane. She'd never really spent any time away from the office with him. She wondered if he'd play mind tricks on her all night. "What's the catch?"

"No catch. I promise, Grace. You'll be glad you went."

"I doubt that. But ok. It's a non-date."

His smile broadened and he rubbed his hands together joyfully. "Excellent. I'll meet you there at 6."

"No, you'll pick me up at 6:30." she paused. It was kind of fun playing back with him. "If you ask a girl out, even on a 'non-date' then you have to pick her up and you have to pay. That simple."

"Grace Van Pelt. Traditional girl."

She nodded with a smile and waited for his answer. "Fine. I'll pick you up at 6:15, but we eat where I want."

"Fine."

"Fine." he agreed, walking out of the office. He turned briefly to grin at her. Once he was gone, her good mood faded and she laid her head on her desk. What had she gotten herself into?


	2. Chapter 2

_Disclaimer: I don't own these characters. If I did, I'd probably still right ff anyway._

Chapter 2

As promised, Patrick Jane pulled up at Grace's apartment complex at 6:15 on the dot. She exchanged the customary hi and how are you as she got in, still wondering what she had gotten herself into. For his part, Jane smiled when he saw her... but that wasn't unusual, except for rare occasions of insanity, he always smiled. But this was different. Grace had surprised him actually in the way she was dressed. He had thought she would have gone with black pants, a long skirt _maybe_. It wasn't a date, but she seemed to be treating it as such, at least manners wise. Instead, she wore dark wash, wide-leg jeans with a soft teal button-up. It wasn't a work (IE conservative) button-up. Instead it was feminine with small puffed cap sleeves and a dark brown belt fitted below her chest. Her hair was completely down, falling in soft red waves all around her shoulders. She saw him staring and blushed, his favorite thing. "What? I wasn't sure where we were going? Am I dressed wrong?"

"Oh. No. No. It's fine. You look very nice."

"Thank you. You too." It was a polite answer, but as she glanced at him, she realized that she meant it. She was used to Jane's wrinkled three piece suits that he wore to the office. Next to her, he wore black slacks, a white shirt with the sleeves rolled to the elbows, and a black vest which was buttoned at all of the button holes.. something, she noticed, he rarely did. Being dressed nicely and neatly, Grace thought he could make the cover of TV Guide's Sexiest People... almost.

"Thanks." he grinned.

"So. Where are we going?" she asked, putting on her seat belt.

"The Casa Marin."

Her eyes nearly bugged out of their sockets. "Jane, that's very expensive. I'm not dressed for--"

"You're dressed fine, Grace." She was sure he hadn't meant it... why would he mean it, but his voice had taken on a sensual undertone. Unsure what to say, she nodded and remained silent, counting down the minutes until they would be going in the opposite direction and this awkward non-date could be over.

Light small talk, and fifteen minutes later, Jane pulled into the restaurant parking lot. Grace stared at the imposing building for a second, taking in a few cleansing breaths. The Casa Marin was a very well known and very expensive five star restaurant. She'd never been there, but it's reputation for quality over quantity was very well known. It has gained popularity in the past few years because it was nestled right next to the country club. All of the husbands, wives, partners, and mistresses loved the place, loved bragging that they had been, even if they all had gone home and eaten a hamburger after the meal to fill themselves up from the small portion size. The Casa Marin wasn't the most ritzy restaurant in Sacramento, but it was more than she'd ever been too.

Admiring the glass building in awe, she reached for her door handle. "Let me." Jane gleamed, getting out of the car and running to her side.

"Um, thanks." she said as he helped her out.

He nodded and closed the door behind her. Grace didn't know what it was, but she knew Jane was up to something... something not good....

Her suspicions were compounded when he reached over and took her arm in a gentlemanly embrace, walking hertoward the restaurant like they were walking down the aisle. "What do you think you are doing?" she whispered curtly.

"Just relax, Grace. Follow my lead and things will go smoothly." he grinned, enjoying himself.

"I swear if you make a fool out of me..." she felt herself stiffen. She hated being made fun of, and that's what he was doing... she knew it... she--- "Grace." he was standing in front of her. _When did he do that?_ she wondered. He was bending down to her, eyes trained hard on hers. "I'm not going to make fun of you. I promise. We are here to have a good time. That's all. I'm just trying to be nice." He looked away sadly, playing on her compassion. "But if you want to go--"

"No. No." she stopped him. He looked so sad. Darn him. "We can stay. I'm sorry. I'm just not used to this."

The twinkle that had never left his eye shone brightly. "Good. Lets get you used to it then. Shall we?" He offered her his arm again, and this time she took it willingly. Maybe hanging out with Patrick Jane wouldn't be the worst thing in the world.

They didn't have to wait to be seated or to be waited on making Grace wonder what kind of connections Jane had. For his part, Jane was amused by how hard Grace looked over her menu. It wasn't that she couldn't read it. It wasn't a French or Italian restaurant by any means. So it had to be the prices. "I can't believe a bowl of soup is $22 dollars." she said exasperated while leaning over the table toward him. She didn't want the wait staff to hear her and think she was a small town hick... which she was, but she didn't want _them_ to know that. Jane chuckled inwardly. He'd been right. "But it's really good soup." he countered.

When the waitress came back, they ordered and then settled in to some chit-chat before their meal came. The Casa Marin was a very nice restaurant. Grace figured it had gotten so nice by charging $45 for a baked potato. The main dining room housed twenty tables. Each were well apart from the other. On top of every one hung a crystal chandelier. When the sun went down, the lights dimmed to illicit a more intimate environment.

"Impressive, isn't it?" Jane asked, breaking her from her ooing and awing of where she was sitting. They were seated at the rear of the room against the wall. It was a nice place to sit actually. When they had arrived, Jane had pulled out the seat facing the wall for her. Not wanting to be rude, she accepted. However, she had been a little disappointed that she couldn't observe the grand room more from her angle, but she knew Jane and knew that he probably wanted to be the observer. She was right... just not in the way she thought.

"Very." she agreed, taking a sip from her water.

"Not what you thought of when I asked you to dinner though, is it?"

"No." she smiled. "I was expecting more along the lines of McDonald's or River's Pizza."

"You think I look like a McDonald's man?"

"Aren't you?"

"Well, yes. But I don't want that to get out." he laughed.

As their conversation continued, the sound of a woman laughing could be heard from across the room. "She must be having a good time." Grace mused, now completely relaxed.

"Indeed she is." Jane said in a too knowing tone.

She arched her eyebrow to him. "Do you know that woman?"

"I have a chicken salad for the lady." called the waitress sitting down Grace's dish. "And a steak and potato for the gentleman. Anything else? Enjoy."

"You never struck me as a steak and potato man either." she laughed, cutting into her salad.

"See you've learned allot about me tonight." he smiled, cutting into his very well done steak. He used to like it rare until...... "So, why a salad?" he asked, getting his mind away from his family, from blood, from unpleasant things that he didn't want to think about tonight.

She shrugged taking a bite. "You're psychic. Tell me." she challenged. Her own gleam in her eye.

"Hmmm..." he studied her, then smirked. "It was the cheapest thing on the menu and, since I'm paying, you didn't want to get anything expensive because then I might want sex as payment."

She paused chewing for a moment, eyes wide, but she had gotten used to his remarks by now. She knew she'd always been a little stiff and uptight around him. She wanted to see what it would be like to just play along. Tease back with him. To his surprise, she didn't blush, but smiled. "Yes. That's totally it. You figured me out." she said playfully.

He let out an honest chuckle at the new and improved relaxed version of Grace Van Pelt. The playful version. He wished she would be this person more. "See, I'm good at this. You didn't have to worry though. I only make sex mandatory after the second non-date."

"Duly noted." She began eating and stopped when she heard the woman's laughter again. "Really good time." she laughed again.

Jane looked over at the table he'd been keeping tabs on the entire night and grinned. "Yes. Really good time indeed."

"Don't stare." she admonished, ducking down a little in her chair.

"Why not?"

"Because it's rude."

"So is laughing loudly in a very expensive restaurant."

"Touché." she agreed, sitting back up and eating again.

She was enjoying herself... Lord help her, she was enjoying her time with _Jane_. It felt.. comfortable. Not romantic. Definitely not romantic. But comfortable. Like she was out with a flirty old friend. "Mr. Jane?" A woman said surprised as she was passing by their table. Grace had been so caught up in her conversation with him that she hadn't noticed her until she was right there. _Oh my God._ she thought.

"Yes." he smiled, standing to shake her hand. "It's good to see you again Jackie."

"You as well." she grinned like the cat with the canary.

"Having a good time?" Jane asked her.

"Yes, indeed."

"Oh, excuse me. Jackie Sheuffner. This is Grace Van Pelt. Grace. Jackie."

Grace looked to Jackie then to Jane. Jackie with her short dark bob, her skintight red dress, her ruby red lips, her large breast fighting the garment to get free...,Grace hadn't liked her from the moment she had shown up at the CBI headquarters and Rigsby had taken her out. The Cougar. That woman had had the nerve to call and make Grace take a message asking Rigsby for a date that night. Guess Rigsby had told her no, like she knew she would... haha Jane... and she'd gone and found some other gullible lug.....

"Hi Jane. Grace." _No. It can't be. It can't be._"Rigsby." she smiled as politely as she could. "I didn't know you were here."

"Really? Jane didn't mention it? He's been staring at us all night."

"That a fact?" If looks could kill, Jane would be a dead man.

"Must have slipped my mind." he answered innocently.

"So, are you and Mr. Jane here on a date?" Jackie asked Grace.

Rigsby scoffed. "No, why would Jane want to date her?"

His answer made Grace's ears turn red from anger and embarrassment... why would Jane want to date _her?_ Was she _that _undateable? Rigsby noticed her anger and tried to backtrack, which only made things worse... "No, I mean, they are coworkers and, Jane doesn't like Grace. She's not his type..."

"Not his type?" Grace asked, crossing her arms and looking at the stupid lug who she 'used' to like. Jane just stood there looking between the two, highly amused.

"I didn't mean like that, Grace. I just meant. I mean, come on, you and Jane." he said it like it was the most ridiculous thing in the world.

Letting her anger get the better of her, she stood, eyeballing Rigsby, walked passed that whore Jackie, grabbed Jane by both sides of his face, and laid a mind-blowing kiss on his lips. It even surprised the blonde recipient. Her lips were warm, hot from both anger and being flustered. When she released him, he was speechless... not a feeling he had often. "Wow." Jackie gawked. "Come on, Wayne. Looks like these two have a room they need to get too."

Grace gave Rigsby a "now what are you going to do" look while she crossed her arms and tapped her foot annoyed.

"Um, excuse me. Others are complaining. We need to wrap this up." the manager came to tell them.

"We were just leaving." Jackie replied, grabbing Rigsby by the arm and leading him away. She winked at Grace as they walked and mouthed, "Go get him, tiger."

Once she was sure Rigsby and the whore were out of her sight, she turned back to Jane who was still standing there flabbergasted. "I have to admit. I didn't see that coming."

"You set me up." she accused, turning her anger on him.

"I did not. I simply called Jackie to see if she wanted to meet Rigsby. I called Rigsby and told him he had a date. Then I asked you if you wanted to come."

"Are you that bored that you have to be cruel to me all of the time?" She turned to walk away, but was stopped by his hand gently pulling on her arm.

"I'm not being cruel. I thought that maybe if Rigsby saw you with me, he'd get jealous and finally tell you how he truly feels."

"Don't you get it, Jane. He doesn't feel that way about me. You saw him leave with Jackie. He doesn't think of me like that. No one does." She started to leave again, and again he stopped her. "Let me go." she wanted it to come out like a command, but sounded more like a request.

"Not until you hear me out. I admit, it might not have been the best laid plan, but the intention was there. Didn't you see how Rigsby looked at me? He wanted to hit me for having you on a date."

"He knew it wasn't a 'date'. Why would you want to go out with me? He even said so himself."

"That's not true."

"Oh." she laughed bitterly. "So you _do_ like me? You _do_ want this to be a date?"

"Well, no., but--"

"And Rigsby doesn't either."

She stormed out of the way too fancy, overly priced restaurant in shame, fighting back the tears threatening to fall. Jane had lied to her... what else was new.

"You are mis-reading things, my dear." Jane said after running up to her.

"Just take me home. Please." It hurt Jane how much her fire had gone out. How she couldn't see how anyone would want her. She was more vulnerable after Dan... more than he realized. This plan of his... this plan to curve his boredom and possibly bring two people together had been ill advised and badly timed.

Once in the car and driving, Jane said, "I'm sorry. I never meant to hurt you."

"You didn't." she lied, not wanting him see how truly affected she'd been. He could see her trying to hide her rogue tears by looking out of the passenger window. Frustrated, he hastily pulled the car off of the road and into a nearby parking lot. "What are you doing?" She demanded.

"What am I doing? What are you doing? Pouting because you had a bad night? I said I'm sorry and I meant it, but I had a good time before that..."

"Making fun of me?"

"No. Spending time with you. I had fun _with_ you, Grace. Now stop moping before you ruin the mood."

She smiled despite how she felt. Jane could charm the fleas off of a dog. "Rigsby did look a tad jealous, didn't he?"

Jane grinned back and nodded. "That he did. You should have seen him after you kissed me."

Her cheeks flushed brightly at that memory. "Yeah, you didn't have to bring that up. I'm sorry about that."

"Oh, don't be. I rather enjoyed it."

"Really?"

"Really. You, my dear, are an excellent kisser."

"Why thank you." She didn't know why, but that actually made her feel a little better.

"Rigsby would be honored to be kissed like that... if you ever decide to that is. You might have just feel deeply in love with me from our one moment of passion and I've cured you of your desires for Wayne all together."

She laughed softly and shook her head. "You could be a hard man to love, Patrick Jane." She paused. "Take me home."

"Just like that. A kiss, then a bed." He knew what she meant, but he couldn't resist.

"No. A kiss, then a talk. We need to have a serious conversation about boundaries."

He laughed. Spending time with his friend Grace was definitely good for him. It sure wasn't boring. "Boundaries, huh?"

"Yes, like never pull a stunt like this again."

"Ok." he agreed, but added. "It sure will be fun Monday at work, though, won't it? Rigsby eyeing me and you suspiciously. Wondering what happened after he left. Cho being Cho. Lisbon wondering what the hell she missed. We could egg it on. I could come sit on your desk all day. Whisper sweet nothings in your ear." he teased.

"No thanks," she laughed. It had been a 'non-date' that would at least be memorable. She had to admit, it would be kind of fun Monday. She wondered if Lisbon would be jealous of her time spent with Jane... or if she would be as hardheaded as Rigsby."Lets go have that boundaries talk."

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_A/n: :) I finally got Grace to kiss Jane, in a totally friendly way, but whatever. It made me happy. I hope you all liked this little story too. It's been a fun weekend project. Thanks for reading... and reviewing... ;)_


	3. Chapter 3

_A/N: OK, so I was requested to write about what happened at work the next Monday.... so I did LOL. So my one shot that became a two shot... became a three shot.... _

_Disclaimer: If I owned these characters, I'd be rich... as it is, I'm typing this on a six year old computer using dial-up. _

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Chapter 3:

When Monday morning rolled around, Grace sat cautiously optimistic at her desk in the bullpen. Jane was late as usual, but after their 'after non-date' talk Friday night, she was sure, or as sure as she could be with Jane..... Ok, she had a little bit of optimism... that it had done good, and he would just drop whatever it was he was planning on doing at the office to embarrass her. Sadly, when he strolled in twenty minutes late, devilishly grinning at her with a wink and a laugh, she felt like going home sick.

Sure she had relaxed after their 'non-date'. Fun was had, but that was outside of the office. Outside, she could be Grace, free as a bird Grace. Let her hair down and enjoy a good time Grace. But inside those state building walls, she was Agent Van Pelt. She'd worn her hair in a bun at the nape of her neck and a royal purple shirt under a black blazer. Her black trousers and shoes completed the 'professional' look that she had worked overboard that morning trying to create. She'd worked hard to be able to become an agent and she wasn't looking forward to whatever Jane was planning that could potentially cause the loss of her credibility.

Truth be told, the consultant had decided to spare Grace and let their 'non-date' slide under the radar, unless Rigsby brought it up of course. However, when he'd walked in and saw her sitting at her desk uptight, stern faced, prim and proper, and bun-haired, he quickly changed his mind. There was no sense in Grace being one way outside of the office and another inside. If she couldn't be herself, then what was the point.... he was doing her a favor....... at least, that's how he justified it.

Rigsby and Cho were at their usual command station, a desk across the aisle from Grace. Blessedly, no new cases had came in over the weekend, so they were looking over paperwork. chatting about nothing in particular. At the same time, Lisbon came out of her office to discuss a call that had just came in when she stopped and stared at what her consultant was getting himself into. Before Jane went to his couch to lay down (his normal morning ritual), he stopped at Grace's desk, gently kissed her cheek and said, "Grace, you look lovely today." He grinned smoothly before settling himself down on his couch.

Rigsby tried not to look at Grace, but he couldn't help it. He couldn't stop the gawking. There she was sitting awestruck, rubbing her fingers lightly over the spot where Jane's nasty lips had touched her. Then he looked at Jane who was sprawled out on his couch without a care in the world. His nostrils flared as he imagined going over there and kicking him in the...... Then, his eyes went to Cho, who was looking at him very strangely.... he had to do something to stop the insanity.

"Jane, cut that out." Rigsby ordered through shifty eyes.

"What?" he raised up enough to look at his flustered co-worker. "You don't think she looks lovely today?"

"Um... well, yeah. She looks... like... she always does. I guess. Good, I guess. If you like that--- color of purple, and the-- yeah, she looks as lovely as ever."

"Good. No problem then." the sly man turned back on his couch and grin broadly.

"So, what was that all about?" Cho whispered to the sullen man.

"Wha-- how should I know? Jane's just being annoying." he stammered, his face reddening.

"More than usual?"

Rigsby glared at him. "Drop it, ok Cho."

"Fine." He looked down at his paper. "So how was your date Friday night?"

Rigsby cut his eyes to Grace who, upon overhearing the question, automatically looked to him. Embarrassed, she took her eyes away from his instantly, however, wanting to kill Jane with a fiery vengeance. "It wasn't a date." he told him.

"You go to a restaurant. You eat dinner. The man pays. It's a date." Cho explained. He was beginning to become amused by the triangle, nay quadrangle he was seeing before him, and wanted to explore it further. His voice wouldn't betray him though. It sounded as bored and even as ever. No one need to know that he secretly thrived on gossip and office romance gone awry.

"Oh, you hear that Jane?" Rigsby yelled to his resting comrade before he could stop himself. It was like his tongue had gotten a mind of his own. "You go to a restaurant. You eat dinner. The man pays. It's a date."

He saw Jane shrug. "Ok, fine. Grace and I had a date. Happy?"

"What? We did not." Grace protested.

"If it looks like a duck, it's a duck." Rigby told her coolly.

"If it talks like a jackass, then it is a jackass." she seethed. Getting up from her desk and going toward the kitchen.

"That's my cue." Jane announced, jumping from the couch and making a show of going after her.

"What the hell was that all about?" Lisbon asked from where she had stopped to observe a few moments before. You go to one leadership conference and the entire world goes crazy.

"Nothing." Rigsby spoke.

"Nothing." Cho shrugged, still reading his papers, but silently hoping his boss would make a big deal out of it. The place needed some excitement.

"Nothing, huh? So, what? Jane and Van Pelt went on a date Friday night?"

"She kissed him." Rigsby blurted out.

"She _kissed _him?" Lisbon said as Cho raised an interested eyebrow.

"Forget I said that." he backtracked, but once something is out there, it's out there.

"Uh-huh." She paused, looking toward the kitchen. "I'll be right back." she said before excusing herself.

"Man, what happened to you over the weekend?" Cho asked.

"Me? Grace is the one who went all weird going out with Jane like that. And she kissed him. Right in front of me."

"Hm... Was it a good kiss?" Cho held back a yelp as his tall friend reached over the table and whacked him on the arm. To Cho's inward dismay, that was the end of their conversation.

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"You promised."

"I made no such promise. All I said was that I wouldn't whisper sweet nothings in your ear all day, and I'm not. Kissing you on the cheek this morning wasn't against your rules."

"Because I never in a million years thought you'd do it!" Her eyes burned through his like fire. Yep, she was mad at him. Strangely, though, he kinda liked her mad. When she was mad, she let her inhibitions go. She relaxed a little, got the stick out of her butt, and started acting like a real flawed human being. It wasn't like getting Lisbon mad. Getting her mad was fun on a whole different level.

Not wanting to look into his eyes any longer than she had to, she turned her back to him and started fixing her a cup of coffee on the far counter in the room. She heard him walking toward her, and she held her breath. _What is he doing now? _she sighed. "_You_ kissed _me_ Friday night remember?" he whispered into her ear, his body lightly touching hers as he placed a hand on the counter either side of her, boxing her in. He didn't normally venture that close to anyone, but he had to be to do what he'd wanted to do since he'd seen her that morning.

"Sorry, I must have forgotten."

"Right.." he grinned, pulling her hair from the bun and letting it fall loosely. Finally. Much better. "Turn about's fair play, Grace. I could have always kissed you like you kissed me. That would have gotten a bigger rise out of Rigsby wouldn't it?"

"Is that all you want in life? To get a rise out of people?" She wished he hadn't of pulled her hair down, even though it did feel much better and freeing that way. And she wished she wasn't pinned between the sink and Jane. She really hated it... she mostly hated it... OK, she wanted to hate it.....

"That, world peace, and to gut Red John like a flapping fish."

"At least you are a well rounded individual." she laughed. She couldn't believe she laughed. For some reason, the situation was becoming humorous to her. She guessed laughing was better than crying.

He couldn't believe she laughed either. His friend Grace kept surprising him. He started to say something else when he heard, "Oh, please don't let me interrupt." He felt Grace freeze upon realizing who was speaking. She elbowed Jane in the stomach, making him move so she could get free. "This isn't what it looks like." she stammered, grabbing her ponytail holder from Jane's clutch and pulling hair back again. She was clearly nervous that he boss caught her in a semi-compromising position with the man she knew the woman kinda liked.

Lisbon was standing in the entrance to the break room/kitchen area, her hair waving around her shoulders, and her arms clad in a clingy green shirt, crossed across her chest. She was smirking to both Jane and Van Pelt. "It's not huh. Look, you two are entitled to whatever relationship you want outside of this office, but not inside, got it?"

"We're-- we're not." seeing that she wasn't going to get any help from the Cheshire smiling Jane, she sighed. "Yes, Ma'am." Van Pelt answered defeated before bolting out of the room, leaving a smiling Jane and an annoyed Lisbon alone.

"Happy now? You scared the poor girl off."

"What was that all about?" she asked using her authority voice.

"Nothing." he teased.

"I keep hearing that. Why are you playing her?"

"I'm not playing her."

"Then why are you leading her on?" He looked at her like she had two heads. "Leading her on? I'm not leading her on. She knows we are just friends."

"Uh-huh. Boxing a person in at a sink from behind and whispering into her ear isn't something you do to just a friend."

He raised his brow to her and walked closer. "Oh I get it." he said slyly. "You're jealous."

"I'm not jealous. I"m just simply making sure my team doesn't fall apart."

He shrugged, but kept walking toward her. "Good thing you went to that leadership conference then or we'd all be screwed."

"Yeah, thanks. I'm going back to work." She walked out of the room before Jane could reach her. He had a strange light in his eyes that she didn't really like... like he was up to something really bad, but curiosity got the better of her, and she came back. "So, she really kissed you?"

"She was mad." he grinned.

"Uh-huh." she replied rolling her eye, then left him alone. That made total sense.. in the fact that it didn't.

Briefly, Jane sat down at the table and began playing with the forks and spoons, trying to build a tower, trying to keep his mind busy. Everyone was taking this 'date' and 'kiss' too serious. He was going to have to show them that you _could_ go to dinner with someone and you _could_ kiss them (or they could kiss you as the fact was) and still just be friends.

Suddenly (like all of his best ideas) it hit him. He jumped up, his tower of forks falling. It was the best idea he'd ever had. Like a child, he skipped back to the bullpen filled with his waiting guinea pigs, um, coworkers.

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_A/N: Um, yeah... so there will be a chapter 4 LOL. I stink a 'one shots' LOL_


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4:

Jane didn't skip so much as he bounded joyfully and mischievously into the bullpen where the rest of his team, his more than likely unwilling test subjects, were listening to Lisbon babble on about some case they had just been assigned. It appeared to him like the group was purposefully trying to ignore him. Quite amused, he quietly sat down on his couch, crossed his legs, and grinned right at Lisbon whose back was to him. Everyone knew that you could _feel_ it when someone was staring at you. Stare at them long enough and, well.......

"What are you doing?" Lisbon huffed, turning to him agitatedly.

"I'm looking at you." he answered like the answer should have been obvious.

"I know that, but why?"

He jumped from the couch and grinned happily. "I'm glad you asked me that. I want to--"

"No." she said, cutting him off.

"But you didn't hear--"

"No." she said again, turning her attention back to her agents.

"Lisbon."

She ignored him.

"Lis-bon" he said, drawing her name out the annoying way a child does when it feels it's not being heard.

Again, she kept on talking.

Never deterred, he walked up behind her, his arms clasped behind his back and whispered. "Lisbon." in her ear.

"What?! What do you want? Can't you see we are _trying_ to work?"

"Trying... but failing." he corrected.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Cho asked from his perch which just happened to be the seat across from Rigsby.

"It means that you are all so caught up in the Jane/Van Pelt date--"

"Non-date." Grace added quickly.

"Non-date-- fiasco that nobody is thinking about the case and nobody had even written down one fact that she has told you--- am I right, Rigsby?"

Rigsby looked like a deer in the headlights. He looked to his boss who gave him the "Oh please don't tell me Jane is right." look. "Sorry, boss." he admitted unwillingly. "I've got a lot on my mind."

His admission made Jane move toward Grace. "And Grace, what was the last thing Lisbon said?"

He stood in front of her, rubbing his fingers together like he did when he was interviewing a suspect. Grace didn't like it, didn't appreciate it, and thought it was rather cute all at the same time. Putting that last thought _way _in the back of her mind, the young agent squared her shoulders back, lifted her chin to Jane and replied, "She said that the victim's name was Jason Copola and that he was found dead from a stab wound to the jugular."

She smirked to Jane who in turn looked to Lisbon for verification. The boss shook her head and sighed. "Actually, I said that the victim's name was Jack Hess and that was found beaten to death at his LA home."

"Darn it." Grace slammed her pencil down on the desk and sulked inwardly.

"I knew that." Cho announced without provocation. He just wanted it out there.

"Well, that's because you are a goody-two shoes, know-it-all." Rigsby told him, not able to cast his eyes in the direction of his boss.

"What does all of this prove?" Lisbon asked annoyed that: One, her agents couldn't focus on the simple task at hand and Two, because it proved that Jane was right. _Damn._

"It _proves_ that I'm right. That you are all so caught up in this non-date, kissing mess that you can't focus. You need my help."

"For what? A kissing booth?" Rigsby mumbled.

Jane smiled in his direction. "No, to settle this so we can get back to work and find the bad guy who killed Jason Copola--"

"Jack Hess." Lisbon corrected.

"Whoever. He deserves justice and we will give it to them--- but first---"

It was the _but first_ that had everyone worried.

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The conference room at the state building was a place where the team rarely went. Lisbon had gone a few times in her tenure for various meetings and seminars, and all had gone to initiation there on their first day at the bureau, but it wasn't a room they frequented. The room was stark white, uncomfortably white, with a few pictures of past presidents and bureau leaders slapped on the walls for decoration. The room had 20 brown rectangular tables in it, equally spaced apart, each with ten silver folding chairs around them. The floors were tile and the color of the walls. If it was a special occasion, the tables were decorated in colorful linens and floral centerpieces. As it was now, it was just a big white enclosure... like a padded room.

The team stood in a circle at the center of the room just as Jane had instructed. All had grumbled about it, none more so than Rigsby who thought this was the stupidest idea he'd ever heard of.. and said as much, loudly and in many different ways. It hadn't worked and for some reason unbeknownst to him, his boss had decided to just let Jane do his mojo on them. Great.

Even though it was a circle, Jane stood at the 'head' position. To his left was Grace, then Cho, Rigsby, and finally Lisbon who was on Jane's immediate right.

"So, you got us all here, now what?" Lisbon asked him, wondering why in the heck she'd decided to go along with this cockamamie plan.

He was grinning... with a twinkle in his eye... it wasn't going to be good. "Ok, we are here because I want to show you that you _can_ in fact go on a," he used air quotes, "'non-date' with some one and even be kissed by them and still just be friends. That it means absolutely nothing in the long run."

Upon hearing that, Grace felt a little ping in her heart. Small sure, but it was there. She didn't know why it bothered her that the last thing that Jane said had an affect on her. It wasn't like she _liked_ him. She _liked _Rigsby, not that anyone could know about that.

"So, what? We stand here and kiss each other?" Cho deadpanned half kidding, crossing his arms. He wasn't so much as annoyed with the idea of this little 'exercise' as the thought that he might have to kiss Rigsby.

Jane cocked his head to his friend. "Ding. Ding. Ding. Give the man a car, Vanna."

"You can't be serious." Grace said, rolling her eyes.

"I can be... serious. I am quite often in fact. It's just that no one believes me when I am."

"This is insane, Jane."

"No, Lisbon," the way he said her name mimicked the way she'd said his. "It's perfectly sane. And I'll tell you why. One by one, we will go walk to another person in the circle and kiss them. Once we've all kissed and we all see that nothing has came from it, then wha-la, things will get back to normal. You will all see that Grace's feelings for me are non-existent and we can go back to finding out whoever killed Mr. Copola."

"Hess." Lisbon corrected yet again.

"Whatever. Ok, Who's first?" He asked, trying to hide his giddiness, but not making it all the way. It wasn't so much that he wanted to see his collegues kiss, it was to prove he was right.. and that was all that mattered after all, that he was right.

"Wait." Cho interrupted. "Does this mean that I might have to kiss Rigsby?"

"What's wrong with Rigsby?" Jane asked, his brow furrowed in mock confusion.

Cho simply looked to his left, then back to Jane and raised a brow.

Jane laughed. "Well, do you think there is any difference between Rigsby and lets say Grace?"

"Yes, one is a man and the other is a woman."

"If you were staring down a man with a gun, trying to kill you, would it matter to you if Grace or Rigsby were your back-up."

"I could never look at that man again if I kissed him."

Rigsby chuckled quietly. "You'd be lucky to kiss me, man."

"No, not really."

"What?"

"What, what?" Cho replied. "Do you _want_ to kiss me?"

"Well, no."

"Then, it's settled. Boys kiss girls. And girls kiss boys." Cho's rules and Cho wasn't going to back down. He knew that if they were even in a life or death situation, all he would be able to think of were the feeling of Rigsby's thin, little, tiny bird lips touching his and.... eww..... now the image was there, burned in his brain. He had been bored, but not this bored.

"That is so backward thinking of you, Cho, but ok. Boys kiss girls, girls kiss boys." Jane agreed begrudgingly. It would have been kinda fun to see Cho kiss Rigsby, but then he might have to kiss Rigsby and well..... "Cho, why don't you go first?"

"Why me?"

"Because someone has to--"

"Just humor him, Cho. The sooner we do this, the sooner we get back to work and the sooner we get to LA to investigate who killed Mr. Hess."

"Oh, take your time, Cho. I already know who killed him." Jane chimed in nonchalantly. From the little he knew about the case, he knew the killer had to either be the jilted lover, or the boyfriend of said lover... either way, it was good as solved.

"You don't even know his name." Lisbon shot back at him.

"Doesn't matter. Lets get this party started. Cho, pucker up my man."

The called out agent sighed heavily, but stepped forward. He walked directly over to his brown haired boss and kissed her quickly and lightly on the cheek. He then stepped back into position. "There."

"That was cheating."

"No it wasn't. You didn't say _where_ I had to kiss her."

Jane dismissed him non-verbally then to Lisbon he said, "Well, what do you think? Are you madly in love with him?"

"Oh yes." she said sarcastically. "Cho is my man now. We're going back to work."

"Not yet. Grace, it's your turn."

"Hasn't she kissed enough people in here for one weekend?" Rigsby said under his breath. Making her cheeks burn. "If you've got something to say, say it."

"Nothing. Nothing. It's just... ok. Kiss Jane then." he challenged.

"Fine." she answered seeing red. How dare Rigsby speak to her that way, like she couldn't kiss whomever she wanted, whenever she wanted, however she wanted, and it mean whatever she wanted. The handsome blonde man was ready for her this time and when she turned to lay one on him, he was already there. He over dramatically grabbed her, dipped her down, and lowered his mouth to hers....

His _intention _was to make a big spectacle about it. To do this big, stupid, grand kiss and then when she was able to breathe again (because, face it, he knew he was a good kisser and that it would take her at least a few seconds to recover), she'd probably slap him but _then_ tell the group that she had felt nothing. Nothing.

That was his _intention. _But when he held her close to him, felt her soft body against his, the room slowly slipped away. The assembled group faded, and it was just him and Grace. Him and..... _her_. Her lips were so warm. So angry at first. He liked kissing his friend Grace when she was angry. Then something happened. He felt her relax and felt her arm slid greedily over his shoulder. His hand, too, decided to have a mind of it's own and found it's way to Grace's poorly replaced bun. His fingers gripped tightly to her hair, pushing her lips closer to his own. He hadn't kissed a woman since his wife. The kiss at the restaurant had been a fluke on Grace's part, her anger. This was something..... different. Something........

He didn't panic, but he did release the kiss suddenly and for a time couldn't stop looking at her. She was out of breath, that much he knew would happen, but there was something in her eyes.... terror, confusion, lust... Something was definitely wrong with this picture.

He lifted her back to standing and fixed his vest and jacket back into place. He ran his fingers though his blonde curls, killing time before having to look at the rest of the team. "See," he said finally. "You can kiss a co-worker and still be friends."

Cho's eyebrow raised. "If I kissed my friends like _that,_ I'd have more friends."

Growing increasingly uncomfortable, Rigsby said, "Excuse me. I'm sorry, I forgot. I have to go--do-- something." He didn't want for anyone to stop him and exited the room hastily. His quick exit made Grace feel terrible. She didn't want to feel the feelings she had right that moment for Patrick Jane. Ewww... especially not Patrick Jane. She was _supposed _to like Rigsby. Well, in the sense that she couldn't date him, but he was _hers. _Jane was _supposed _to like Lisbon, and Cho had his mother... not like _that_. It was the way it was _supposed _to be... like it was written in the stars, but still. She'd felt something.

"Yeah, lets get back to work." Lisbon agreed, following after Rigsby. When she glanced over her shoulder to both Jane and Van Pelt, they could see the sadness in her eyes, sadness she probably had no idea why she felt. It made Grace feel about two inches tall.

"Yeah, I'll go too. Great experiment, though, man." Cho said, patting Jane on the shoulder as he walked passed him. Without anyone seeing, the agent smiled briefly, dimples showing. This hadn't been terrible, uncomfortable sure, but not terrible. He hadn't had to kiss Rigsby, and things sure weren't boring anymore.

That left only Grace and Jane alone in the room. They had separated and stood five to six feet apart. Grace leaned back on a chair for support because she felt like her knees would give way at any time.

"Are you ok?" Jane asked, genuinely concerned for his.... friend.

"No." she laughed bitterly. "No, I'm not. You?"

"I've been better." He placed his hands in his pockets and leaned on a chair next to her.

"That was a fluke, right? I mean...."

"Yeah, total fluke."

"Right, like, there's no way that you'd even remotely feel anything toward me."

He paused, looking at her the way he had Lisbon earlier. However, this time it wasn't to get under her skin. It was to get her to look him in the eye. She complied after a time, just like he knew she would. However, all of the things he _knew_ were slowly fading away. "Grace, if I allowed myself, I could feel a great deal for you, I think." He stopped. Suddenly, his wedding ring felt very heavy on his finger. "I just, I can't deal with... feelings right now... it's not--"

"Me either, alright." She said, silently admonishing herself for feeling anything but annoyance and pity for the normally arrogant bastard. "Lets just pretend this didn't happen."

"But it did--"

"No, we'll just pretend it didn't."

"There were witnesses, remember."

She put her head in her hands. "Don't remind me."

He wanted to touch her, to comfort her like any _friend _would, but he couldn't. He didn't know if he should... didn't know if he shouldn't. "It could be worse, alright. You could have found out that you had feelings for Cho."

Like intended, she laughed. "Yeah, that would have been horrible. Or Cho could have fallen for Rigsby."

"That would have been a sight." Jane laughed, enjoying the lighter mood.

Grace wanted to add, _And you could have kissed Lisbon and found your true feelings for her._ But she didn't. However, the thought did damper her mood again. "I'd better go." she said, standing.

"It was just a kiss, Grace." he reminded her as much as himself.

She turned back to him and put on her greatest attempt at a smile. "Just a kiss." she agreed, even though her heart didn't agree with it.

After she left, he sat alone in the large empty room. Inside his pocket, he played with the heavy gold ring on his left hand, spinning it around his finger. "Just a kiss." he said again. Thinking back on how this perfect plan had gone awry, and how in the world he was going to fix it.

Like before, the answer came to him like a bolt of lightening. Quickly, he got up and left the room, heading straight for Lisbon's office.

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_A/n: Yeah, that got a little dramatic LOL. Sorry. Anyway, there will be a chapter 5 and maybe 6, but it depends on how 5 goes. I hope you liked this chapter. Don't you Jisbon people give up on me yet... there is always chapter 5 :) Thank you SO much for all of the reviews :) All mistakes are mine. _


	5. Chapter 5

_A/N: this has been the hardest chapter I think I've ever written. Lots of re-writes. Lots of back and forth. Lots of angst on my part for a little one shot that could LOL. I hope it comes across ok. All mistakes are mine. All of the characters are not... not even Ole Jack Hess from the O.C.. Enjoy :)_

_Ok, this is hard for me to submit LOL. Here we go........._

Chapter 5

Teresa Lisbon had just sat down behind her desk when her door opened and in walked a perplexed looking Patrick Jane. Without speaking, he walked up to her desk, stopped, placed his hands behind his back, and waited. Not knowing what he wanted, but thinking it would be fun to mess with him a little, payback as it were, she ignored him. She got out a manila folder from her desk drawer and opened it, pretending to read every last word like they were the most important ever written. It annoyed him at first until he figured out that she was just toying with him then he found it amusing. He rocked on his heels, whistled a little tune, anything to annoy her, get her attention.

"No." she said finally.

"No what?"

"No, I won't kiss you."

Her answer surprised him. That had been exactly why he had came to see her. He smirked sheepishly, happy that he was finally rubbing off on her. "Oh come on. Apparently it's not that bad."

"Yes, apparently you make all the girls swoon." she answered amused, not looking from her folder.

"Just one girl, and... not the right girl." he said the last part under his breath. In fact, he wasn't sure she heard it.

She had. "Oh, and who would be the right girl?" she looked at him grinning playfully, then caught herself when she saw the look in his eye. He couldn't mean.... _Oh God. _"Hold on, now, cowboy. You're running and your scared."

"I am not." he paused, reading her flabbergasted expression, then saying. "What? No, not you.... exactly."

Upon hearing that, she was partly relieved... and strangely a little hurt. She decided to skim right over that part of the conversation. No sense in going there. "You are running. You kissed Grace. Felt something for her, and now you're scared."

"No. Ok I admit. I felt something, but--" he sat down and leaned back, crossed his legs, and intertwined his fingers. "Look, I kissed Grace to make a point that you can kiss someone and still be friends."

"And how's that going for you?" she half-laughed, closing her folder.

"Eh" he said more with his head movement than his voice. "It's complicated things."

"Look, if you want to ask Grace out--" she wasn't going to stop him.

"I don't." he sat up, making his point very clear. "I don't think. I don't want to date Grace. Grace is now and will forever be my friend. Probably one of my only true friends. She puts up with me, and is sweet even when I don't deserve it--"

"Uh-huh." she laughed. He looked like a smitten school boy.

"No." he said again, his face falling slightly. "It was just that-- kissing her-- anyone----" he paused, looking down at his fingers, particularly his ring finger on his left hand. "Well, it's been a long time."

Watching him twirling his wedding ring, she understood. She leaned over on the desk to be closer to him without really realizing why she was doing it. "And?"

"_And_ it brought back emotions, feelings, that I'm not ready to deal with--- look, the point is that I've royally screwed up."

"Wow." she smiled hoping to lighten the mood. "I've never heard you say that."

"I've rarely meant it. So just humor me."

Lisbon knew what he was getting at, but had to say, "You're not so sure that Grace is just a friend now, are you?"

"You're not getting it. Just kiss me. Think of it as a Science experiment. If I feel exactly what I felt when I kissed Grace then I know it's just the fact of kissing someone and making me miss... _her_." His thoughts went to her. His beautifully naive wife.

"And if not?"

"Well then, if not, I have some serious issues brewing between either you or Grace. Come on. What do you have to lose?"

"My dignity. My self-worth--"

He rolled his eyes melodramatically. Why was everyone taking this so seriously? Why was he? "One kiss."

She studied him for a moment, looked him over. Sighing in defeat, she raised from her chair. What could it hurt? "Fine." she agreed. She walked over to him. The closeness of him and the smell of his aftershave made her pulse quickening which she hated, and then she kissed him. She meant to lightly touch his cheek like Cho had done her, but something had gone wrong and her lips touched the small, soft line that start his lips. She stopped, her mind fuzzy at the electric sensation his touch emitted. Leaning back, she had to steady herself on her desk. It had been the most chaste of kisses, but it had probably made her feel more than any kiss in her past. "See, I kissed you and nothing." she lied, trying to control her breathing. It was all she needed for Jane to know that he'd had that affect on her.

"Yeah, nothing." he said, knowing she was lying: One, because she was breathing to irratically and Two, because he'd felt it too. It wasn't like when he kissed Grace. Grace's caused a reaction for sure, but Lisbon, by simply barely touching his lips, she made him feel things he hadn't in years... hadn't wanted to in years.

"See, you were right. You can kiss a friend and still be friends."

"I do like being right." he smiled and got up from his chair. Lisbon's breath caught again at the closeness of his body but didn't flinch. "I'm going to go find Grace. Straighten this whole thing out." His proximity to her thrilled him and he couldn't stop the smile forming on his face. Inwardly, however, he was becoming tormented. First and foremost, he wished that Grace's and Lisbon's kisses had been from his wife. Knowing that was impossible now, he had to discern one reaction from the other. How was it that he'd gone from having no emotional attachments to anyone to having two in the same day? He liked it better when he was just annoying them.

"That's a good idea." she agreed. Once he left, she instinctively raised her fingers to her lips, mentally reliving the sensation felt when she they had touched him. What was it about Patrick Jane that made all of the girls swoon?

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Jane found Grace sitting in the break room/kitchen area watching her coffee like it was the greatest source of entertainment ever. "Hello." he said politely.

"Hi." she answered not looking up.

"You look so sad." he said gently, sitting down beside her... his friend Grace.

"I'm not. I'm just... I don't know."

He nodded knowingly. "Look, I came to tell you that I'm sorry that I decided to relieve my boredom this weekend by playing matchmaker with you and Rigsby."

She grinned sadly, taking a sip of her coffee. "Yeah, that turned out really well. He won't even speak to me."

"He will. You will both work this out, but you have to talk to him."

"Uh-huh."

"And you have to forgive me?"

"Do I have a choice?"

"You always have a choice, Grace."

It took her a minute, but she finally turned to him and looked directly in his blue eyes trying to decide what to do. She had to save face somehow. She decided that making light of the situation was the best way to go. "I'm sorry to have to tell you this, but I'm going to have to break up with you." after saying it, she had to smile. The expression on his face was priceless.

"Oh, baby. Say it's not so. We've had such a great time together. What about all of the fun we had together?" he played along, his face contorted in mock hurt, happy that she was being playful again.

"Sorry, love, I've decided to focus on my work."

"And Rigsby?"

"Rigsby--" she said bitterly, smile fading. "--can kiss my butt."

Seeing how her mood had changed so suddenly, Jane couldn't help himself. He'd been on such a screwed up roll in the last few days, why not add to it? Gently, he glided his fingers under her chin and raised it to look at him. "Rigsby loves you, Grace. He'll come around."

She stayed there, looking into his eyes for a few seconds, wishing that Rigsby looked at her like Jane was. Then reality hit her and she moved her head away from his grasp. "Maybe I don't want him to come around. Maybe I just want to be by myself."

"Oh, trust me. Being alone isn't as fun as it sounds."

"I guess you're right. I don't know. I do know, however, that this has been a crappy Monday morning."

"I agree." Jane laughed a little and stood to leave. He turned back to look at Grace... his 'friend' Grace.

"So, we're good?" he asked hopefully.

"Peachy."

"Rigsby will come to realize that you can kiss a person and still be friends."

"Uh-huh." she said, her coffee beginning to look amusing to her again. In her mind, however, she kept thinking about the kiss in the conference room between her and Jane. She'd felt something... as much as she hated it, she felt something--

"I felt it to, Grace." he said like he could read her mind. "Just like you. But--"

"I felt nothing." she lied, forcing a sip of coffee down.

"Grace--"

"Can we just get back to the way things were before this kissing fiasco?" she got up to leave the room.

"And how was that?" he asked, falling in step beside her.

"Where you were a complete, but lovable bastard and everyone stayed semi-mad at you."

"Is that what you want?"

"What I _want _is for none of this to have ever happened." she answered honestly.

"I can't take it back.." he said, stopping a few feet behind her as she walked off. Halting herself, she took a deep breath and turned back to him. She walked closer so the others in the office wouldn't have gossip fodder for the next few hours.

She decided to throw caution in the wind and ask the question she'd wanted since the beginning of their conversation. "Did you mean what you said? That you could feel something for me if you tried?"

Her question threw him for a moment. He thought about it and answered, "Yes."

"But you don't want to try?"

"You broke up with me, remember?" he smiled a little. God he hoped to get out of this conversation alive. He hoped to get out of the day alive. That's what he got for kissing everyone like a damn fool.

"I remember." That was enough to answer her question. "Just don't kiss me again. Promise?"

"I promise." he sounded sincere so she nodded and walked away. She stopped again when she heard Jane calling her name. She turned to him, waiting for him to speak. He couldn't end it that way. "So, would you like to go to dinner with me tonight?" his face lit up and he laughed, hoping that was bastardly enough for her.

Apparently it was because she laughed. "No, then it would be our second non-date and then I'd have to have sex with you."

"Oh yeah, forgot about that. Forget I said anything."

"That's my goal in life." she laughed, turning to walk back to her desk.

"Well, that went well." he muttered to himself before walking off as confused as ever.

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About an hour later, Grace was sitting at her desk, trying to find out any information she could on the victim, Jack Hess. Jane was laying on his couch, relaxing, thinking, listening, pretending to sleep. Cho had gone with Lisbon to LA to look at the crime scene and had left the triangle there to work things out.

Rigsby sat at his desk, trying in vain to focus on the papers in front of him, but he kept reading the same line over and over again. He couldn't keep his mind off of Grace. Every time he looked at her, all he saw were Jane's dirty lips all over her soft, pink, luscious ones.

He couldn't work like this.

Making a decision, he quickly got up from his chair, walked toward her purposefully, and when she leaned up to ask him what was going on, he planted his lips to hers passionately. The kiss was nothing like when Jane had kissed her. Jane's kiss had made her feel things, but this one... this one was different in a totally unexpected way. The act caught Grace by surprise, but when he finally released her, she felt the room spin. "What was that for?" she whispered using all the breath she had left while looking around to see if anyone had seen. It appeared that no one had, thank God.

"Jane's nasty lips were all over yours. I just had to help clean them up, that's all." With that he walked back to his desk and began working. Through it all, he kept his smile.

Laying back on his couch unnoticed, Jane grinned brightly. Maybe his plan had worked out after all. Rigsby had gotten jealous as intended and maybe that would be enough to push him toward Grace. Grace had felt something for him, he knew she had, but he also knew that they both realized it couldn't be pursued, not then anyway. They were friends after all. And then there was Lisbon.......

And then there was Lisbon.

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_**The End**_


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